Worth a pop? (NAD)

LuttiS · March 2018

Basically an @ICBM question

I've sort of been after a Kustom Coupe, and there is a broken one near to where i work. What kind of problem might this be and is it worth having a look at it and getting repaired? If so what kind of offer would you make?

Thanking thee!

Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3m7fkwdfmbvud3t/Screenshot_20180320-184042.png?raw=1

CaptainBb · March 2018

Might be any number of things. If near to you, I'd take a cab and plug the amp into it to see if it's just a blown speaker. If the output tranny has gone, then it would be a costly repair. Ask if you can take it to a repair Tech first to diagnose the issue, then make an offer if it's worth it.

ICBM · March 2018

Difficult to tell. Quite likely just the HT fuse gone, probably caused by a power valve failure. But it could be a number of other things, large or small. Very unlikely to be the output transformer despite popular belief that’s it’s always a valve or a transformer

.

I would think it’s a fairly safe bet at £150, but £100 would be better of course.

LuttiS · March 2018

Thanks, i think a cheeky message is in order

LuttiS · March 2018

Offered £60.. now we play the waiting game.

LuttiS · March 2018

Met in the middeish at £100. New Broken Amp Day... um.. yay?

LuttiS · March 2018

Well, i got it and it looks all pretty in a 50's roll top kind of way.

Is replacing the HT fuse something someone with a little electronics savvy (i.e. knows not to stick screwdriver in power socket while holding the metal bit and knows which bit of the soldering iron is the hot bit) could do or should just take straight to someone who knows what to do?

or am i overthinking this.. is the HT fuse literally just a fuse in a different location to the main fuse?

Is there any other diagnostic type things i could be doing to narrow down the fault?

Thanks

impmann · March 2018

Daft idea but it worked on an old Laney amp of mine.

Take a patch lead, stick it in the effects send/return loop - send and return (jumpered). See if it comes to life.

ICBM · March 2018

First thing: does it make *any* sound at all? Any hiss or hum through the speaker, or is it totally silent?

If yes: it's not the speaker or the HT fuse. If no: check the speaker first, either by running this amp through another cab, or running another amp through this speaker, depending on what you have and what connections there are. If you don't have anything and the speaker can be disconnected from the amp, *briefly* touch a 9V battery to the end of the speaker cable, one stud to the tip and the other to the side of the sleeve. If the speaker makes a loud pop then it's fine. Take the battery off immediately.

Then report back!

LuttiS · March 2018

I'd say its silent,.. there is a very quiet hum... but i'd call it more of a "there is power here" hum rather than speaker hiss/hum if that makes sense?

I briefly put an amp head through the speaker and couldn't hear anything.. it was however very brief as Mrs. L is as yet unaware of NAD. Didn't get the guitar out through it.. it was a Joyo Zombie so tried playing music through the bluetooth but nothing came through.

Will be "hiding" thing at mates tomorrow until i figure out how to NAD, where cabs are available and more extensive testing.

ICBM · March 2018

LuttiS said:

I'd say its silent,.. there is a very quiet hum... but i'd call it more of a "there is power here" hum rather than speaker hiss/hum if that makes sense?

I briefly put an amp head through the speaker and couldn't hear anything.. it was however very brief as Mrs. L is as yet unaware of NAD. Didn't get the guitar out through it.. it was a Joyo Zombie so tried playing music through the bluetooth but nothing came through.

Will be "hiding" thing at mates tomorrow until i figure out how to NAD, where cabs are available and more extensive testing.

If that faint hum is coming from the chassis vibrating (from the PT current) then the speaker could be dead, especially if running another amp through it produced no noise.

If the speaker does prove to be dead... from the spec, it seems these came with Eminences. If so, there's a known problem with them - on many models, the cone braids are not soldered to the terminals but crimped rather crudely into a little bit of bent metal at the top of them. I've come across a surprising number of 'dead' Eminences where all that's happened is that a bit of corrosion has occurred here and broken the connection - soldering them up fixes it. If it's one of these, check the voice coil by metering directly across the cone braids - be careful not to put too much tension on them.

I'm sure Mrs L will love the pretty Tuck'n'Roll thing once you get it working

.

LuttiS · March 2018

I'll double check the speaker tonight, and also get a cab run through it to be sure. Thanks for help sah!
In the mean time..

Day 2.. still remains hidden. Inconspicuous all morning. Now in boot of my car, ready for foster home.

Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3gemwsihfoe1i2f/Inconspicuous.jpg?raw=1

nikolas7333 · March 2018

What a little tease...

LuttiS · March 2018

nikolas7333 said:

What a little tease...

Haha! I got back late last night and couldn't find anywhere to hide it.. so i had to hope she wouldn't go in that room in the morning any more than a cursory glance

nikolas7333 · March 2018

I have to say, that photo actually made me laugh out loud. You should start a photo series on hiding new gear from your wife, the cheekier the better.

LuttiS · March 2018

When i hid the amp last night it was much darker in the room and the curtains did cover it a little.. did feel a little stupid for hiding it there when i did come down in the morning

Behind that chair at the moment is 1 x cased guitar, 1 x uncased guitar, pedal board in bag, 1 x blackstar HT1R 1 x bass 1 x L6 HD500 and i think a couple of loose pedals. I think she knows i own most of it bar some of the pedals.. but it's me having to hide it in accessible locations so i can actually use it.

When NAD does finally happen, i'll probably coincide it with cleaning out the understairs cupboard, she knows i have a couple of amps and guitars in there already.. just a case of slipping this one in there too and not looking guilty..

lewism · March 2018

A man after my own heart. Remember, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Hope you get the amp up & running soon.

LuttiS · July 2018

So uh... Life got in the way... After much staring seriously at the amp I finally managed to get it to an amp tech (only took 4 months.. ) and apparently the issue is the "Doppler Resister" that goes into the preamp.. at least that's what it sounded like he said on a bad line.. is that a thing?

£5 for the part £55 for the labour as most of the amp has to be taken apart to get there.

Still total cost of a Kustom 36 Coupe £160.
I'm pretty happy with that result.. just got to arrange life a little so I can go and collect and actually get a chance to use it...

ICBM · July 2018

LuttiS said:

So uh... Life got in the way... After much staring seriously at the amp I finally managed to get it to an amp tech (only took 4 months.. ) and apparently the issue is the "Doppler Resister" that goes into the preamp.. at least that's what it sounded like he said on a bad line.. is that a thing?

£5 for the part £55 for the labour as most of the amp has to be taken apart to get there.

Dropper resistor most likely. It's what supplies the high voltage to the preamp, from the even higher voltage in the power amp. They get hot and can sometimes burn out if the power rating isn't quite high enough or very rarely if a valve fails.

Hopefully he increased the size of it - for £5 it would have to be something fairly hefty! - so it won't fail again.

dazzajl · July 2018

Congratulations on nearly being at NAD.

I have one one of these here that belongs @TheMarlin and it’s a great wee thing. Mighty loud for its size and weight and a good range from clean to quite high gain.

JezWynd · July 2018

With the Tuck n Roll finish, perhaps you could introduce it as a new piece of stylish furniture?

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Worth a pop? (NAD)

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